Bulbagarden 2015 & 2016 Christmas Contest Entries
by PocketSnails
Summary: My three entries for the writing portion of Bulbagarden's Annual Christmas Contest in 2015. Update: Added in my entry for 2016's contest.
1. Last Minute Shopping! Yellow for Red!

**The following three stories are all entries that I had submitted for Bulbagarden's Annual Christmas Contest - the writing portion at least. And for all wondering, yes, I did get chosen as a winner surprisingly. For this entry we had to write a story about a Pokemon character doing last minute shopping for another character - obviously based on a certain movie starring a certain former governor of California. Enjoy!**

"Attention all shoppers, Lumiose Department Store will be closing shortly. Please finish all of your purchases and have a safe and wonderful holiday!"

" _Attention, tous les acheteurs, Lumiose magasin sera fermé prochainement. S'il vous plaît finir tous vos achats et passer des vacances en toute sécurité et merveilleux!"_

"Oh no, come on, where is it?!"

Yellow ran around inside the recently built Lumiose Department store, searching for the area of the store that had eastern shops – specifically, shops that one would normally find in regions such as Kanto and Johto. In essence, she was looking for Kanto Gaming Corner – an international video game store chain.

The Gaming Corner had first sprouted up in Yellow's hometown of Viridian City, and its popularity soon allowed it to spread to other cities in the region, then into Johto, and further in further, until there was a Kanto Gaming Corner in every region – usually located in the department stores, though given their size, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova all have multiple locations, though not as many as Kanto.

Now, what was Yellow doing in Kalos, so far from her home in Kanto? She was shopping for a present for Red. After all that Red had done for her over the years, Yellow felt that it was time to pay him back.

Unfortunately though, the present that Red had wanted had proved to be very elusive: A red 2DS, produced by the company Game Freak, with a copy of their original hit GameBoy game, _Pocket Monsters: Red Version._ The game was a formulaic recreation of Red and Green's journey throughout the Kanto region and the defeat of Team Rocket, though deviated heavily from the true events that actually happened – along with that, both Yellow and Blue were absent from the game, much to the two girls' chagrin.

The four Dexholders all played the original games – _Red Version_ along with _Pocket Monsters: Green Version_ and the eventual _Blue Version_ and _Yellow Version_ – as well as their remakes, _Pocket Monsters: Fire Red Version_ and _Pocket Monsters: Leaf Green Version._ In fact, all the Dexholders had been fans of the _Pocket Monsters_ series, including those outside the region, as Game Freak decided to make more games in the series that had chronicled the events of Dexholders in the other regions – _Gold, Silver, Crystal, Ruby, Sapphire,_ etc., all the way to their two most recent releases, _Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby Version_ and _Pocket Monsters: Alpha Sapphire Version._

When Game Freak had announced that they would be porting _Red, Green, Blue,_ and _Yellow Versions_ to the 2DS as well as make respective models for each game (in actuality, they were clear, plastic models color-coded to match their games,) the original Dexholders were excited, happy to see their favorite video games remade for the new console, able to battle and trade with each other once again.

Despite the Dexholders' reputation though, every pre-order available for the consoles and their games ran out in the Kanto region within hours, before Red or any of the others could do so. Upon calling Gold and Silver, they confirmed that the same happened in Johto. Red was distraught, now under the impression that he would not be able to play his favorite video on the limited edition console.

Yellow saw her friend's depression, and quickly went on a journey: She traveled first to Hoenn, then Sinnoh, finding out from her friends Sapphire and Platinum that the copies had ran out in those regions as well. Yellow had thought that she reached the end of her line, thinking that she had lost access to getting Red's present. Just as hope was lost, she received a call from White – there were ten copies left in the Unova region, and Whi-Two was holding them, an ability she had as manager of Kanto Gaming Corner in Shopping Mall 9. When Yellow arrived though, she was sadly informed that Whi-Two was forced by corporate to sell the copies – mere minutes before Yellow got to the store.

As Yellow was waiting in line at the Unova airport, her friend Y came up to her, saying that she had a private jet ready to go to the Kalos region – _Pocket Monsters_ wasn't that popular of a series there, and Y knew without a shadow of a doubt that at least a few hundred copies were left in the new Lumiose Department Store.

And here Yellow was, scrambling around the Department Store, trying to find the Kanto Gaming Corner to get a copy. Y had to head home to be with her family, so she was not there to help Yellow. It was December 24th, Christmas Eve, and there was about thirty minutes left before the entire store closed – and it was _packed._ Like, really packed. As Yellow walked through the store, she heard a multitude of languages – her native Japanese, Unova's English, Kalos's French, even languages she had never heard, namely those from Orre and Almia.

Finally, Yellow reached the directory on the first floor. Upon viewing it, she noticed that the Kanto Gaming Corner was on the second floor, west wing, left side. She sighed. To reach an elevator, she'd have to go through the open air courtyard in the center of the mall, where it was heavily snowing.

Lumiose Department Store had been built like Lumiose itself was – large, and circular. Unlike most Department Stores, which built up, LDS built out, with only three floors, but about half the size of Lumiose itself. This caused the store to have to be built outside of Lumiose, to the north. The store was designed to have sixteen different wings – one for each direction (note that directions such as North-Northeast were being counted for the design), with each wing having two stores per floor – this totaled to ninety-six stores, the largest of any department store in the world. Though the wings themselves hardly contributed to the store's size – each one was only about the size of a very expensive suite in a high-rise hotel. No, the real draw and reason for the size was the overly large, open-air courtyard in the center, hosting a swimming pool, multiple sports' courts, and a field for Pokémon battling.

Yellow pulled up the hood on her bright yellow hoodie, running across the open-air courtyard until she reached the elevators. She squeezed into one that was loaded to almost capacity, going up to the second floor. She ran around the outside of the balcony until she reached KGC, going into the store. She walked around, looking for a copy of _Pocket Monsters: Red Version_ and its respective red 2DS. Finally though, she found it! She reached for it, and just as she was about to grab the _last_ box there, another hand grabbed it.

She looked across to the other person who had grabbed it, and saw a young boy, about ten years old. He had somewhat spikey, black hair, big brown eyes, somewhat tan skin. He wore a bright blue jacket with white accents, a charcoal tee shirt underneath. He had blue jeans that went into a pair of red and black sneakers. Black, fingerless gloves covered his hands, and a red hat sat atop his head, a white semi-circle in the middle. Lastly, a Pikachu sat on his shoulder, looking around and admiring the store.

"Um, excuse me sir, I was reaching for that." Yellow said, a slight bit of annoyance in her voice.

"Hey, well, so was I!" He said.

"Haven't you ever heard of ladies first? It's mine!"

"My hand touched it first, so that makes it mine!"

"Ugh! I don't have time to argue with you!"

"I don't have time to argue with you! I want this game!"

"You want it?! I'm buying it for a friend!"

"Your friend can just play the original!"

The two trainers stood there, having reached a stalemate. Neither of them wanted to let go of the box, both of them wanting it.

"Hey! I don't need you two battling in my store! Take it outside!" The manager yelled at them.

"Yeah, we really shouldn't do that in here. You know, there's a battlefield in the center of the courtyard. Let's settle it there!" The boy suggested.

"That's fine by me!" Yellow replied. "But, what if it's purchased while we're gone?"

"Oh yeah, right! Hehe!" The boy took the game, walking over to the manager. "Excuse me sir, can you hold this game for us? We don't want it to be purchased while we're battling."

"Sure, I just need to get your names."

"Ash Ketchum." The boy said.

Yellow walked up. "Yellow del Bosque Verde."

"Wow, interesting name." The boy – Ash – said to her.

"Same to you Ketchum boy."

xXxXxXxXx

Minutes later the two trainers were standing on opposite sides of the battlefield.

"Okay! We're to use only two Pokémon each! Whoever's out of Pokémon first is the loser, and winner gets the game! Is that fine with you Yellow?" Ash yelled across the battlefield.

"As long as you're fine with losing Ash!" The Dexholder yelled back.

"Haha, we'll see about that! Greninja, let's go!"

"Omny, show him what we're made of!"

The two trainers threw out their Pokémon, the water types staring at each other.

"Greninja, start off with a Double Team!"

As Ash commanded the attack, over a dozen Greninja appear in a circle around Yellow's Omastar. Trainer and Pokémon looked around, trying to find the real one – they were taking too long.

"Now, use Cut!"

One of the Greninja leapt forward, using the HM move on Omny, getting a critical hit! It was only the start of the battle, and Yellow was almost down by one.

"Omny, get rid of him! Hydro Pump!"

Omastar fired the attack at Greninja, pushing him away, though it didn't do much in terms of damage.

"Using a water move on a water type?! What kind of trainer are you Yellow? Greninja, finish it with an Aerial Ace!"

Ash's Greninja leapt into the air, and quickly flew down, inches from hitting Omastar.

That's when Yellow sprung her trap.

"Omny, use Blizzard!"

Surprise appeared on both Ash and Greninja's faces, as the ice type move swirled around, _freezing Greninja in the air._ The water type fell to the ground, the ice shattering – it was knocked out.

"Grrr! Greninja, return! Pikachu, let's finish her!"

Ash's Pikachu ran out onto the battlefield, electricity sparking from its cheeks.

"Pi-kaPika!"

"Pikachu, Electro Ball!"

The electric type leaped into the air, glowing with electricity.

"Pika Pika Pika Pika Pika Pika Pikachuuuuu!"

Omastar tried to dodge the attack, but failed, getting knocked out by it.

"Ugh! Omny, return. ChuChu, time to end this!"

The two Pikachu stared at each other on the battlefield, waiting for commands.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Use Agility to dodge it!"

"Iron Tail!"

"Agility!"

"Electro Ball!"

"Once more, Agility!"

The two trainers stared at each, then, in unison, shouted

"QUICK ATTACK!"

The two Pikachu sprinted across the snow covered battlefield towards each other, streaks of bright, white light behind them. What Ash wasn't expecting was the pure speed of ChuChu, and what Yellow had in mind.

"Finish it with Volt Tackle ChuChu!"

ChuChu surrounded herself with electricity, and the increased speed from three Agility and Quick Attack made it move faster than light, slamming into Pikachu with all of her force, surrounding them both in smoke. When it cleared, both were fainted.

Yellow collapsed to her knees, tears in her eyes as Ash ran over towards his Pikachu. Who fainted first? No one knew. The amount of smoke – unless someone just happened to have a pair of goggles on that could see through smoke, it was impossible to know. Suddenly, she looked up, seeing Ash holding out his hand as she returned ChuChu.

"That was a great battle Yellow! You fought well."

"Th-thanks…I guess."

"Hey look, I can tell you really wanted that game. Go ahead and buy it, my treat!"

"WHAT?! R-really?"

"Yeah! I'm pretty sure ChuChu defeated Pikachu, and if she didn't, oh well. I was wanting the game for myself anyway. You're clearly buying it for a friend."

"Thank you so much Ash! You don't know how much this means to me!" Yellow said, standing up and wrapping her arms around Ash.

"Haha, don't mention it!" With that, the two trainers parted ways.

Yellow hurriedly ran up to the store, purchasing the game with her money. As she left the store though, she realized something: The airport was closed. She had no way of getting back to Kanto to give Red the gift.

"Sigh. Why wasn't I thinking?"

"Hey, Yellow! Is that you?"

She turned around, and saw – of all people – Blue, wearing her red and white hat, white shirt, and red skirt.

"Blue?! What're you doing in Kalos?"

"Oh, hehe! I was buying a present for Green. You?"

"I was buying one for Red. But, I have no way of getting back to Kanto…"

"Oh. Well, wanna come with me? I was planning on having Blastoise take me home."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Yeah, of course! We're friends, right?" The girl said, smiling.

"Yes, of course we are."

xXxXxXxXx

It was Christmas evening. It had taken almost a whole day to travel on Blastoise from Kalos to Kanto. Blue had stayed at Pallet Town, whereas Yellow had to make her journey to Viridian. The sun was breaking through the trees of the Viridian Forest, and Yellow was slowly trudging along, her eyes bloodshot, shadows having formed underneath them. She got not a single bit of sleep while on Blastoise, dedicating herself to making sure that her and Blue's bags didn't fall off into the water.

She walked up to her house, took out her key, and unlocked the door. She was surprised to find Red, Green, and Blue in her house, with the latter-most of the three now in her black dress and matching shoes, whereas the guys were wearing color-coded polos, jeans, and dress shoes.

"Haha, hey Yellow! Nice of you to finally get here!" Blue said teasingly.

"H-how did you three get into my house?!" Yellow asked nervously. They all three laughed.

"You gave me a copy of your key, remember?" Red asked. Yellow felt her face heat up.

"Um, uh, yeah! Look, let me go upstairs so I can shower and change! Blue, do you mind wrapping this?!"

"No, not at all." She said, getting up and taking the present.

It took Yellow about ten minutes to shower and change into a short, golden, sequined dress, not bothering with her hair. She walked downstairs, sitting next to Red, Blue giving her the now wrapped gift.

"So, now that we're all here, shall we go about exchanging gifts?" Red asked.

"Sure." Green said. "Blue, here's yours."

"And Green yours." The two said to each other, passing gifts to each other.

"Yellow, here you go." Red said.

"Th-thank you Red. Here's yours." She passed him his.

"Okay! Everyone open in 3…2…1…go!" Green said.

Everyone quickly unwrapped their gifts. There was a moment of silence, followed by a burst of laughter, then a few 'thanks' and 'you're welcome' between the two couples.

Everyone had gotten a copy of _Pocket Monsters_ and a 2DS, both of which was matched with their names.

"Well, I have to say, this has got to be the best Christmas ever guys!" Blue said.

"Haha, you can say that again!" Red said.

"Hey, I got in idea!" Yellow began. "How about we all open them now and have a race? First to become Champion and catch Mewtwo wins!"

"Oh, you are on!" Green said.

Everyone turned on their handhelds and put in their cartridges, starting to play the first video game most of them ever did.

They all smiled with nostalgia as Game Freak's crude sprite rendition of Professor Oak flashed on-screen.

HELLO THERE! WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF POKéMON!

MY NAME IS OAK! PEOPLE CALL ME THE POKéMON PROF!

THIS WORLD IS INHABITED BY CREATURES CALLED POKéMON!

FOR SOME PEOPLE, POKéMON ARE PETS. OTHERS USE THEM FOR FIGHTS.

MYSELF…

I STUDY POKéMON AS A PROFESSION.

FIRST, WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

"What, how come there's no boy or girl option?!" Blue piped up.

"Remember Blue? They didn't add female trainers until _Crystal Version._ " Yellow replied.

"Ah foo-ey! I don't like being a guy!"

"Is there something you'd like to share with us Blue?" Green asked.

Everyone laughed at the joke implying Blue's gender.

Truly, this was the best Christmas for the four of them – they were together, having fun, gathered around in happiness, doing one of their favorite things together.

It was magical, even.

 _Merry Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year!_


	2. Meowth Writes a letter to Santa

**Compared to the previous story, this one is pretty short, and a lot more lighthearted. For this one, we had to have a Pokemon character writing a letter to Santa Claus - plain and simple.**

Dear Santy Claus, December 20th, 20XX

Hiya there! This is Meowth here – you know, the one on Team Rocket that can talk! Now look, I knows I'm probably on the naughty list this year, but hear me out. Jessie and James are going on vacation for the holidays, leaving me in Kalos to spy on the twerps. Don't worry, I won't be tryin' anything on them, but I do wanna ask ya somethin'. Can you make sure that Jessie and James have a wonderful Christmas? I…I managed to track down Jessie's Arbok and James' Koffing, and I have their Pokéball's attached to this 'ere letter, as I have no means of getting them to those two. I personally don't really care how my Christmas goes, as long as they manage to have a good one. Nothing will make the two of them more happy than having their original partners apart of the team once again. And say it's from you, not me! I don't need all that lovey-dovey thankful stuff in my life. And no, I'm not trying to get on your good side – I just want my two partners to be happy. Anyways, Merry Christmas Santa, and I hope your job ends well this year!

-Sincerely,

Meowth of Team Rocket (That's Right!)


	3. Mewtwo's A Christmas Carol

**And finally, we get to this one. For our final entries, we had to write a fable or poem where a Pokemon character learns a special meaning about Christmas. It could've been entirely original, or something akin to 'A Christmas Carol' or 'The Night before Christmas.' You'll see that I kind of mesh those two together into a, while not entirely unique story, interesting night for everyone's favorite legendary.**

'Twas the night before Christmas,

When all throughout Kanto

Not a Pokémon was stirring

Not even a Rat(tata)

Except for one that is

It was a simple clone

And those crimes of his

That were against humans, kept him alone

Yet on that night

He awoke with a fright

Finding an older ghost

Who was scarier than most

"Mewtwo" He said to the psychic

"It is, Gengar the old,

Who have come to you, with a brain to pick,

I am the Ghost of Poké-Past, and you shall be told

What shall happen if your ways are not changed."

Mewtwo looked at the ghost, as if he were crazy

What he said was quite strange,

After waking from sleep, he was still quite hazy

Then, around them both

Formed a wall of smoke

Sent back in time

(Oh no, I broke the rhyme)

Mewtwo awoke, the world around him grey

As he realized, 'twas the opposite of day

Gengar stood before him,

Pointing to the scene underneath them

Mewtwo saw himself, young in a tube

The devices on him were quite crude

He looked over, and saw the date

'Twas Christmas Eve, 11:55 PM – very late

Mewtwo remembered this scene

As it always haunts his dreams

The tube he was in, with a scream, shattered real fast

And in seconds, he was the last

One standing that is,

As all others were victims of his

He flew from the lab

He would eventually need to perform self-rehab

Mewtwo awoke in the forest once again

Right back where he had been

Was the visit by Gengar a dream

Or did he yet again hear his young self scream?

Suddenly, another ghost appeared,

His appearance quite modern and queer

"Mewtwo, 'tis I, Hoopa Confined

And I shall show, Christmas of this time!

Because I am the Ghost of Poké-Present

And because of your actions, you will soon resent!"

With that, they teleported away

And Mewtwo was looking, at a Christmas of today

Before him stood, Jessie, James, and Meowth,

Realizing that their meeting was about to go south

"The three of you," Giovanni said

"Need to find Mewtwo, before more are dead!"

"But Giovanni, what if he goes into exile?

Given how he is a red-headed stepchild."

The comment made Mewtwo angry

It in fact made him quite cranky

But Giovanni began,

As he defended the man

"We did not neglect him

We just misunderstood him.

If he disappears, then do not bother

It will help end the slaughter."

The three goons saluted, and quick as a flash

Mewtwo was once again, lying in grass

His actions affected today?

He was starting to think he should repent.

When all of a sudden, with a flash so relent

Appeared a third ghost, and Mewtwo was ready to pray

"Mewtwo," Said Dusknoir, reaper of souls

"It is time you saw, what will happen!

For I am the Ghost of Poké-Future, a Christmas so cold

As your death will cause others to gladden!"

Mewtwo looked around, seeing his body

Aged and beaten, before him stood

His mother Mew,

Sadness upon her face

Mewtwo realized his own mother shall fell him

If he did not correct the path he was on

He turned towards Dusknoir, and spoke with a fright

"Dusknoir, is this a vision of Christmas that will be,

Or a Christmas that may be, unless I correct myself?"

The ghost did not answer, simply disappearing

Mewtwo turned around, and saw everyone cheering

They were happy for his death,

As his body breathed its last breath.

Mewtwo awoke, to the rise of the sun

Surrounded by a blanket of snow.

He flew towards Kanto, faster than run

Knowing that it wasn't too late, for all too know.

He arrived in Celadon, speaking to all

He apologized for all that he caused

Death and misery, he had done it all.

The people listened, then they paused.

They apologized as well, for running him off.

Even Giovanni appeared, expressing his apologies,

Mewtwo showed his thanks, by not running him off.

It was implied that they could be friends – possibly.

Then, all turned to the sky,

When what to their wandering eyes did appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny Pokémon.

With a little old driver so lively and quick

They knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.

More rapid than a speed-forme Deoxys his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

"Now _Stantler_! Now _Sawsbuck_! Now _Crobat_ and _Swoobat_!

On _Shaymin_! On _Rotom_! On _Pidgeot_ and _Blitzle_!"

They smile, as he flew away

Another year they would have to wait.

As all gathered 'round, filled with holiday cheer,

They heard one last bellow, from the fat man so queer.

 _Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!_

 **While these are by far not my best work - well, the first story was pretty good in my opinion - I enjoyed being taken out of my comfort zone for once. We were not allowed to use OC's, and characters had to be characterized as they are in the respective medium that they are from. Anyways, I hope all of you enjoyed these three little tidbits, and I also hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!**

 **Also Happy Hanukkah, Kwazy Kwanzaa, Tip Top Tet, and a Fair Festivus for the Rest of Us!**


	4. Christmas in Alola

**Not the entry you'd expect me to update huh? Yeah...I'll get to something else eventually...for now though, this, hehe. I entered Bulbagarden's Christmas Contest once again this year, and while I may not have won in any of the categories I entered this year, still enjoyed it regardless! Anywho, for the writing portion, we had to choose any - or all - of three prompts given to us. Rather then entering all three, I kept it simple and went with just one that I knew I could write - that one being Christmas in Alola, where we had to write about the general celebrations, events, weather, traditions, etc. that happen in Alola during Christmas. Please enjoy!**

xXxXxXxXx

 _Click click click._

The sound of the young boy's shoes clicked on the ground in Hau'Oli City, trying to locate the shopping center. The young Sun had been spending so much time defending his position as Champion of the Alola Region that he had forgotten to do _any_ Christmas shopping whatsoever. Honestly though, who could blame him? When you practically lived up on top of Mount Lanakila, you kind of lose track of the time. Plus, it NEVER snowed in the Alola region – except on top of Lanakila itself, but it was ALWAYS snowing there anyway, so it was pretty impossible to tell that it as December and that you should start shopping.

All of which resulted in the fact that Sun was now rushing around the islands of Alola, shopping wherever he could to try and find the presents that he wished to get everyone. Let's see now…a new dress for Mom…a scratching post for Meowth…as many malasadas as he could find for Hau…and one of the more expensive items on his list, a sleeker, sturdier, more powerful bow for his friend Moon – which mind you, the boy had to import all the way from the Unova region! But, he knew she would be excited. All that was left now however, was Lillie and Lusamine. The mother and daughter were returning to Alola for the holidays, and were due to arrive later that day. And as for Gladion…he was hard to shop for, so Sun didn't bother with him.

The boy panted as he ran into the shopping center. It was surprisingly not as busy as you would think it would be on Christmas Eve. Regardless, he had to hurry to the store he was looking for – even though he was promised the items will be held, he was still unsure. He walked up to the counter, speaking to the manager.

"H-Hello! I'm here to pick up a pair of items I've reserved!" He said hurriedly.

"Sure, what's you name sweetie?" The manager said standing behind the counter.

"S-Sun. My name is Sun…are my items still here?!"

"Oh! You're the boy who called on the phone earlier today! Yes, we still have those items here for you! Just let me go to the back to get them really quick!"

"Oh, thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me..."

xXxXxXxXx

Sun let out a sigh of relief. He was now back in Iki Town, all the gifts he bought were now wrapped up and underneath the Christmas Tree. For it being the eve of a major holiday, it was rather quiet in the town for some reason. As Kahuna – pardon, Elite Four – Hala approached the boy, the thoughts racing through his head were that something was going to happen eventually.

"Ho! How are you doing today young Sun? Are you ready for the celebration this evening?"

"Celebration? What celebration?" The boy asked, putting his 3DS with a copy of _Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby_ into his backpack. He really wanted a copy of _Pocket Monsters: Sun Version_ when the game came out, but had more important things to worry about at the time, which didn't involve playing video games…

"Ho-ho, why yes! Every year we have a little tradition here on Melemele Island! Everyone comes here to Iki Town and gathers around the pedestal here! The young 'uns on their Island Challenge – or at the very least, our most recent participants in it – have a Battle Royal, followed by the Kahunas, and then the victors of those two battles have one with our two regional professors! And once it's all said and done with, Santa himself comes and hands out presents!"

Sun turned his head to the side. That last part sounded a bit…odd. Sun was old enough to know that Santa wasn't real…would Moon, Hau, and the other people his age really fall for it?

"Um…sure. Yeah. 'Santa' shows up."

"Haha! Just you watch boy! He'll show up! And along with those official battles, there are some other ones that happen between our other guests – Trial Captains and what not! Anywho, I'll see you around boy!" And with that, Hala walked off to go deal with other things.

Rolling his eyes at the idea of a 'Santa Clause' showing up this evening, Sun slowly got up, stretching a little bit. That's when he heard a familiar, sing-song voice.

"SUUUUUUUNNNNNNN! There you are you doofus!"

Moon came running up to her friend, tackling him into a hug. They were, quite honestly, the best of friends, even after only knowing each other since their adventures in Alola began.

"Sooooo, what did you get me for Christmas, huh, HUH?! What'd you get me Sun?!"

The boy looked up at his friend, squirming a bit to try and get off of her. She was…a bit too attached to her friend, to say the least.

"How about you tell me first?"

"Okay! I got you a-MMMPPPHHH! Mrgrrgrrr…" The girl was very quickly silenced with Sun's hand.

"I didn't mean literally Moon! You're not supposed to tell someone what you got them for Christmas before they unwrap it."

"But…but…hmph! My family always opens up one present each on Christmas Eve!"

"Really? Interesting…Unfortunately, I haven't really been able to buy you a lot. Being the Champion doesn't quite pay as much as you think." He said sadly. It was a partial truth to be sure, but he had quite a few people to buy for as well…

"Oh…So, I'm guessing you bought me only one thing?" She asked, her usual, happy, cheerful smile fading from her face, tears forming in her eyes.

"Th-That's not what I meant Moon…U-Unfortunately, I _had_ to keep my purchases limited. Everyone I bought for only got one thing from me. Sorry."

He legitimately thought that she was about to burst into tears, before she suddenly started laughing.

"Hahahaha! I understand perfectly Sun! I know what you mean! I'm not even mad, hehe! I'm just happy that you got something for me." She said with a smile, finally crawling off of the boy and standing up. He proceeded to stand up as well, wiping some dust off of his pants.

"Heh. Well you're welcome. By the way, has Hala informed you of the celebration or whatever that'll take place tonight?"

"Oh. My. ARCEUS! Of course! I'm so excited! I've never gotten a chance to meet Santa in my life!"

…

…

…

"…I'm just joking silly, hehe! I don't believe in Santa anymore. I am excited though! Amazing Battle Royals between such amazing trainers! Oh, speaking of which, just so you know, don't go easy on me just because I'm a girl! You'll regret it!"

"Hah! Go easy on you? Last time we battled you had the guts and the strength to challenge my throne! I wouldn't dream of it!"

"Nice to see you remembered! Primarina and I are gonna take you DOWN tonight! See you then!" She said before running off.

Sun paused. It seemed everyone was wanting to visit him and talk to him about something today. Before someone else decided to lay some exposition about the day's events, he quickly ran home, realizing that he only had a few hours to get ready before tonight.

xXxXxXxXx

Sun walked into the center of Iki Town, where a crowd had gather during his absence. The sun had set in the sky, and the party was going strong. At the moment, the Trial Captain Kiawe had taken the stage and was performing his famous fire dancing along with his trio of Marowak. Sun was now dressed up in some lovely attire, wearing a simple, red, v-neck tee shirt, orange cargo shorts, and yellow sneakers. He had gone with the 'setting sun' look for this evening. No hat though – it wouldn't match his look.

He tried to see if he could find any friends, but the crowd was so thick…it was nearly impossible. Shortly after however, Kiawe's dance ended, and Professor Kukui took the stage.

"Thank you, thank you everyone! And welcome to Melemele Island's annual Christmas celebration! Tonight, as usual, we're gonna start things off with our flaming hot Battle Royal between our most recent trainers to take part in the Island Challenge!"

Cheering was heard throughout the crowd, and Sun began making his way towards the center in order to take the stage when his name was called.

"First up, Melemele's lovely princess herself – Moon!" The young girl happily danced up to the stage, waving at everyone. She was wearing a long sleeve, midnight blue top that slightly showed her midriff, along with a purple skirt, and finally, three-inch white heels, her outfit supposed to imitate a rising moon.

"Next, we have the grandson of Kahuna Hala himself – Hau!"

"Woohoo! Yeah! I'm gonna win this and buy me some malasada!" The dark-skinned by yelled as he ran up on stage. He was wearing his normal outfit, as always. And of course he was his usual, happy self.

"Third, we will be having the heir to the Aether Foundation's lovely heiress, Lillie!"

What?! Lillie was taking place in the evening's Battle Royal?! This surprised Sun heavily. But, he didn't have enough time to be shocked, as his name was next.

"And finally, he may not be an Alolan native himself, but he became our region's first ever Pokémon League Champion, here comes Sun!"

The cheering was most definitely the loudest after the boy's name was called, walking up onto the stage and taking his corner. He was position directly across from Lillie, and as such, was unable to speak to her.

"Now trainers, once I leave the stage, release your Pokémon! Each trainer shall use one Pokémon each! The once one Pokémon remains, the trainer who had the most KO's with the least wipeouts will be victorious and move on to the final battle! Trainers…BEGIN!"

"Aw yeah! Time to go Raichu! Show 'em what you are made of!" Hau yelled out, throwing the Alolan form of the famous Pokémon out onto the field.

"If that's what you plan on doing, I guess Primarina will take the field!" Was Moon's response. Despite having a clear weakness against the electric type, she appeared to be extremely confidant.

Sun waited to see if Lillie sent out her Pokémon, whatever it would be. When she didn't, the boy shrugged his shoulders, throwing out his Decidueye.

Lillie stood there, taking a deep breath. "I never liked Pokémon battles…seeing Pokémon get hurt like that…but you three…you've all taught me how you can have battles and train Pokémon without having to hurt them…which is why, I will win this for my partner! Gardevoir, show them what you're able to do!" The girl yelled out, releasing the powerful psychic-fairy Pokémon. A quick glance showed that it wore a necklace with an odd, rainbow colored stone on it. A Mega Stone…

"Hmph. Nice Pokémon Lillie. You won't get to use it though! Raichu, use Volt Tackle on the Gardevoir!"

"Primarina, Sparkling Aria on the Gardevoir as well!"

Sun shrugged his shoulders. They were clearly ganging up on the girl.

"Fine, I'll do it to. Decidueye, Spirit Shackle the Gardevoir!"

Just as the three attacks were about to hit Lillie's Gardevoir, she finally gave a command.

"PROTECT!" She yelled out, grabbing the necklace she wore as well, and mega evolving the creature. Everyone's moves failed just before they hit.

"Fine, if you have Protect, I'll focus on other targets! Raichu, Thunderbolt on the Primarina!"

"What?! How dare you Hau! Primarina, use Surf on everyone else!" "Decidueye, use Double Team to dodge it!"

"Protect yourself again Gardevoir!"

Raichu and Primarina's attacks both connected with each other, with Primarina fainting from the Thunderbolt, though Raichu took a hefty amount of damage from the Surf.

"Decidueye, finish off the Raichu with Spirit Shackle!"

"Gardevoir, help it out with Shadow Ball!"

"What?! Why are you two ganging up on me?!" Hau was so dumbfounded that he was unable to form a command, the double attacks knocking out his Raichu. All that remained was Decidueye and Gardevoir.

"Hmph. Time to end this. DECIDUEYE! USE SINISTER ARROW RAID!" Sun yelled out, performing his respective dance for the move to give his Pokémon energy for the attack.

"Gardevoir…DESTINY BOND!"

"What?! NO!"

It was too late though. Decidueye had already committed itself to the move. As the arrows fell upon Gardevoir, sun hoped that it wouldn't knock it out.

…

…

…

It survived!

"Hmph. Gardevoir, finish it with Moonbl-'

"SUCKER PUNCH DECIDUEYE!"

The girl wasn't able to finish her command before Sun yelled his, dark energy forming around his Pokémon's fist before it lunged forward and hit Gardevoir, finishing it.

"Hmph. That was a risky move Sun. You did good." Lillie said, returning her Pokémon.

"WOOOHOOHOO EVERYONE! That has got to be the most heart-pounding, gut-wrenching, Christmas Battle Royal we've ever seen! With something like that, who knows what the battle between our Kahunas is going to go!"

xXxXxXxXx

The Kahuna battle was relatively uninteresting. A few moves later and Olivia came out on top, beating Hala, Nanu, and Hapu with ease. Now, for the final battle: Sun vs. Olivia vs. Kukui vs. Burnet. An interesting battle, to be sure. But as everyone took their spots, things got even more interesting, as Hala took the center stage.

"Ladies and gentleman, in years past we had our two regional professors – Kukui and Burnet – battle the victorious trainer and Kahuna in this final Battle Royal of the night. This year, however, things will be done a bit differently! May I welcome to the stage, Champion of the Sinnoh Region Pokémon League, Dawn Hikari!"

Sun and everyone else was really perplexed by this. The young girl slowly walked up to the stage, Pokéballs attached to her belt. She didn't say a word, merely standing there, brooding, waiting.

"And now with that out of the way, let the battle…BEGIN!"

"Alright…I can't use Decidueye again…he's still recovering…Toxapex, show them what we can do!" Sun yelled, releasing the poison-water type.

"Hmph. Alright Probopass, time to show them who a real champion is!" Olivia yelled, throwing out the Alolan form of the recognizable rock type.

"Haha! Those are some nice Pokémon there cousin! But neither of them can stand up to my Snorlax!" Kukui yelled, the infamously large Pokémon taking the stage.

Finally, and still without a word, Dawn merely let her Pokéball fall lazily from her hand, Roserade coming out. She clearly had an advantage for this.

"Alright, Toxapex, use Toxic on the Snorlax!"

"Probopass, Earthquake everything on the field!"

"Snorlax, Body Slam on that Roserade!"

"…Roserade, Venoshock the Snorlax…" Dawn said slowly.

Everyone had relatively slow Pokémon on the field, but Toxapex somehow went first, poisoning the Snorlax, followed by Roserade knocking it out with a Venoshock. Probopass came through with Earthquake, doing heavy damage to the two poison types, but neither fainted.

"Toxapex, use Liquidation on Probopass!"

"…Roserade, finish it with Giga Drain…"

Olivia was horrified, not having a chance to attack as she watched her Pokémon get double teamed, fainting after the Giga Drain fully healed the Roserade.

"Toxapex, Blizzard on the Roserade!"

"…Finish this Alolan 'Champion' with a Solar Beam…"

"Haha! I have you now!" Sun said, feeling confidant. But then, his attacked missed…and Roserade powered itself up with a Power Herb!

"What?! No!"

The boy screamed out as the Solar Beam tore through his Toxapex, finishing it off.

Dawn smiled, returning her Roserade and slowly walking off, away from Iki Town, glad with her victory…

xXxXxXxXx

Sun sat off to the side from the party happening in the town. He tossed his Pokéball up and down in his hand, thinking about just how everything went wrong in the battle…how he lost.

"Hey, Sun! You should quit moping around! It's Christmas Eve you know!" Moon said, running over and throwing her arms around the boy.

"Hmph. Yeah, I know…it's just…that trainer…she was so strong…I need to get stronger…"

"Hey, hey! Don't give me any of that! Be cheerful! Lillie's back! It might not be for long, but she's here! You should go talk to her…"

"You really think I should? It's just been so long…and heck, even she's become a strong trainer in that time…"

"Which is why you should talk to her! You like her, right? So why not catch up will you have time! You might not see her for a while…"

"…Yeah, I guess that's true. I'll see you later Moon."

"Hehe, okay! See you then! Don't be late for 'Santa!'"

"Right…Santa…" Sun said, rolling his eyes, regardless of the girl's sarcasm. It took him a while, what with the crowd and all, but eventually he managed to find Lillie. When she felt her friend's hand on her shoulder, she turned, smiling happily.

"Sun! It's been so long! I haven't seen you in months! Though I guess it's kinda my fault, hehe!"

"No, not at all Lillie! You're fine! So, how've you been? How's Miss Lusamine doing?"

"Oh, she's doing fine actually! A lot better! W-We managed to get the trace remnants of Nihilego as well as all the poison out of her, so she's perfectly healthy now! Well, as healthy as my mother is…"

"It's fine. I understand. How're you enjoying the celebration?"

"Oh, I'm actually really enjoying it, hehe! I can't wait to see Santa Clause!"

Sun paused. Did this girl really believe in Santa still.

"…I…I know what you're fixing to ask. 'Why do I still believe in Santa?' Well, honestly, is it really that farfetched? I mean, think about it: You and I summoned the guardian deity of Alola…we've traveled to another dimension, and so many other trainers on their adventures have encountered, defeated, and caught literal gods! So why is hard to think that there might be a jolly old fat man who travels the world all in a single night delivering presents?"

Sun sat there and thought about what the girl said. It honestly all made perfect sense really.

"I…I do guess you're right about that. So many people have done incredible things we never could have dreamed of…"

"Exactly! Though I know that it's not the really Santa who's gonna be he-"

"HO, HO, HO! Merry Christmas everyone! How are you all doing this evening?"

Sun turned, to see who was speaking – and was utterly surprised when he saw what was clearly Hala dressed up in a Santa costume. Who could this man possibly be fooli-

"OH MAN! SANTA'S HERE! ALRIGHT!" Hau's ever-familiar voice resonated, rushing through the crowd to Hala. "Santa, Santa! What did you bring me this year? Oh man, I hope I got an entire house made of malasada!"

"Ho, ho, ho! Young Hau, isn't it? Sorry, can't say I have that for ya! Just not a…structurally sound idea. Plus, even you can't eat all that malasada, hehehe. I did bring quite a few things for you, but I'm not permitted to tell you what exactly it all is! You'll have to find out tomorrow!"

"Ah man! Okay, I understand Santa…"

Sun stared, listening on the exchange as he felt something tugging on his arm. He turned to find Lillie.

"Hehe. He does this every year! And every year Hau is _still_ surprised and thinks that it really is Santa himself! I don't think Hala has the heart to tell him…"

"Heh. Why ruin the boy's fun?" Sun said, not wanting to crush Hau's dreams.

"…You know Sun…just from you being here…this is the best Christmas ever already…"

"R-Really?! Just my presence…?"

"Mmhmm! I like you a lot…and I hope we stay friends a long time…"

"Yeah…I do too…Lillie…"

xXxXxXxXx

Finally, it was Christmas Day. Sun slowly woke up, walking downstairs, and found that company was already over, consisting of Hau, Moon, Lusamine, and Lillie. Gladion was nowhere to be found, and some questioning revealed that he was at Aether Paradise, making sure the place was still running properly while everyone else was at home for Christmas. When asking why he was there, Lillie explained that they held their Christmas with him at the Paradise a few hours earlier.

"Alright then, now that everyone's here, shall we open up some presents?" Sun's Mom asked. No one said no, and as such, the woman began passing out presents.

"Oh wow, sweetie! You got me a new dress for Christmas!" The boy's mother said, holding it close to her.

"Whoa-ho-ho! A box of malasadas! Thanks so much Sun!" Hau exclaimed happily, opening the box and already starting to dig in.

"Oh. My. ARCEUS! A brand new bow?! Sun, how did you afford this?! Wh-where did you afford this?!" Moon asked, surprised by her present.

And lastly, Lusamine and Lillie.

"Y-You two can open them together. Th-They're kind of a pair, hehe." Sun said, smiling at the two.

They nodded, quickly opening their presents. Lusamine had a plushy of the Ultra Beast Nihilego, her favorite by far, and Lillie had one of…Cosmog.

"L-Lillie, go ahead and squeeze it. I think you'll enjoy it.

 _Pew-Pew!_

"Ohhhh! It sounds just like Nebby…a-and it even has 'Nebby' written on the tag for it!" The girl was so happy.

As everyone was laughing and enjoying their presents and having a good time, Lillie walked over to Sun, handing the boy a small, square gift.

"F-For you. I figured I might as well get it for you, since you really wanted it, hehe."

Confused, Sun slowly opened it, and nearly lost his mind when he saw that is was a copy of _Pocket Monsters: Sun Version._ He couldn't think of anything else to do but throw his arms around Lillie in an embrace.

"Th-Thank you so much Lillie! You don't know how much this means to me!"

"Hehe! Oh, it was nothing! I didn't even get it – Santa told me to give it to you."

"Sant-No, I'm not even gonna question it, hehe!"

xXxXxXxXx

"Ho, ho, ho! I think we did a good job delivering all of the presents this year, my Delibird! I might have to hire more of you next year, make it even faster!"

Hala was sitting inside of his hut, still dressed up as Santa Clause, with quite a few Delibird surrounding him. He had handled delivering presents in the Alola region itself, as he had every year, and the Delibird went around the world delivering the others.

"Hmmm…I am getting a bit slower in my old age, however…I should start training Hau for this so that he's able to take over in a few years, ho, ho, ho!"

 _Merry Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year!_


End file.
